Lock for milk cabinets



Patented Apr. 10, 1923.

i UNITED STATES rPMI-:NT oFFlcEL rino o. MILLER, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

LOCK FOR MILK` CABINETS.

Application led April 10, 1922. Serial No. 550,971.

To all whom t may concern: l

Be it known that I, LEO O. MILLER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Locks 'for Milk Cabinets, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to locks or latches for closures and more particularly to a lock especially adapted for milk cabinets and lthe like. An object of the invention is to provide a device which is simple in construction, cheap to manufacture and eiicient in operation, and wherein the arrangement is such that the closure will be latched in closed position so that it may bey readily opened to place articles in the cabinet and vwill operate upon the closing of the closure to lock the same in closed position against unauthorized opening of the closure from the outside but may be readily released 'and re-set from the inside to permit the closure to` be again opened from the outside. lA further object is to'provide a device in the construction of which sheet metal stamp ings may be employed and an arrangement secured whereby the device may be readily installed by an unskilled workman, yand wherein are secured certain other new and useful features, all as hereinafter vmore fullyr out inthe appended claims, reference beingy had to the vaccompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device illustrative of an embodiment of the invention and showing the same'as applied lto the wall of a cabinet or receptacle and to a closure therefor with the closure held in unlocked position thereby; Figi 2k is a similarf view illustrative of the' operation of the device with the yclosure locked vin `closed position, and

Fig. 3 isy a horizontal section through a cabinet and its closure; and showing the device" in ledge elevation.

Houses-are commonly built with a milk cabinet framed into a wall thereof 'with an inside and anl outside door for the cabinet, thus providing a'receptacl'e for milk bottles into which these bottles may be placed lfrom i outside the wall and from which receptacle the bottles may be removed from inside the house. This arrangement does not however, prevent pilfering of the bottles as the entrance to the cabinet may be freely opened from the outside'and the object of the present invention is to provide means whereby the outer door is automatically locked against being openedfrom the outside and whereby, by a proper setting of the device,

free to beV opened so that free access may be had to the cabinet from the outside for the purpose of placing articles therein andwhen so placed and the outer door closed, said door will be automatically locked to prevent access to the cabinet from the outside.` The device as shown has been designed primarily for,A use upon milk cabinets but it will be readily understood that said device lmay be applied-to other receptacles having doors and the purpose of which is such as to make the use of such a device desirable.

As shown in the drawing, 1 indicates the wall or framing of a cabinet which is' set vin the wall of a house and vis provided with an outside door 2 and an inside door 3. y The device illustrative of the invention comprises a hook or latch device of any suitable construction 'indicated as a whole by the numeral 4 and secured tothe door 2 'adjacent the free edge thereof,` and a co-operating catch device carried by the wall 1 and indicated as a whole by the numeral 5. The catch device 5 -comprises asheet metal base plate 6 secured inany suitablemanner to the wall `1',as by screws? or the like, and formed integral with one end of this plate is an outstanding lug or strike plate 8 adapted to be engaged by the ydog or hook 9 of the latch device 4, said hook 9 being formed to engage over the lug 8 and hold the door closed when swung to'closed position, said hook being swung upon its pivot 10 and normally held in lowered'position by means of a spring 11 so that-its inclined outer end 12 when brought into engagement with thelug 8 will raise the hook ordog'a'nd the outer door is held in closed position but of the dog against the action of the spring 11, raising said dog out of engagement with the lug 8.

1n order to set the device so thatthe dog 9 will hold the door 2 c losedcagainst its being accidentally swung open by t-he wind or otherwise, and to hold the dog ,out of engagement with the lug 8 so that said door may be opened from the outside to place articles in the cabinet, a setting device is provided comprising a sheet metal plate 14 formed with longitudinal slots 15 andr 16 through which slots eXtend pins or rivets 17 for securing the slide 14 to the face of the baseplate 6 to slide longitudinally thereon, said slide' being formed with an out-turned integral member or portion adjacent the inner end of the slide and forming a. lifting foot' 18 adapted to engage the inclined end 12 ofthe dog A9 and lift said dog when the slide is moved longitudinally toward the lug 8, said slide being so positioned that said foot 18, will move inV a horizontal plane slightly above the plane of the upper edge of the lug and pass over said lug after t-he dog` has been lifted out of engagement with the lug. A slot or opening 19 is provided in this foot 18 to receive the engaging point of the dog 9 when said dog is lifted thereby and thus, as shown in Fig.. 1, the door will be held closed by the engagement of this pointed end of the dog within said opening 19 with the dog out of engagement with the lug 8 and said foot positioned directly above the said dog. rlhe slide 14 is moved* in one divrection'by means of a coiled spring 20y attached at one end to an outturned ear 21 on the slide and at its opposite end to a like ear 22 on the base plate 6, and to assist in movinn` said slide manually against the ac" tion of this spring, said slide plate is formed with an outturned end portion at its end opposite that provided with the foot, forming a handle 23.

lVhen the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the door 2 is held in closed position by the engagement of the dog 9 with the' foot 18 of the slide but an outward pull upon the door will move the slide against `the action of the spring 2O thus moving said slide outward to the limit of its movement the length of which is determined by the length of the slots 15 and 16, and as the inner end yof the slot 15 is formed with an up- 'wardly y and inwardly inclined portion 24 an'd the slot 16 has an inwardlyv and down ,wardly inclined end portion 25, when the pins 17 enter these inclined end portions of the vslots,'saidslide will 'be tilted, its outer 'or "foot end portion moving outwardly and downwardly, and itsl inner end moving outwardly' and f upwardly, thus disengagi'ngl saidx foot from the dog 9 'just prior to the" slide reaching theouter end of its movementf Therefore whenthe device is set `from thefslideby an outward swing of the door, the slide will be returned to normal position with its guide-'pins 17 in the outer ends of its slots, by the'actionof the spring 29 and therefore when the door is again closed afterthe articles have been put in the cabinet, the dog 9 will engage over the'upper edge of the lug 8 and the door will belocled thereby against being opened from the outside. When it is desired to again, set the device so that the door may be opened .from the outside, vit is only necessary for the-operator to open the inner door 3 and, by lmeai'is of the handle 23, move the slide against the action of the spring to lift the dog 9'out of engagement withl the lug 8 and engage said dog within the opening in the foot on the slide, the spring then actingto hold the `door closed until such time as the door is again swung outwardly'against the action of the spring, which swinging movement will move the slide and byreason of the inclined end portions of the slots in ythe slide, vdisengage said foot from the dog, releasingthe door. The .construction of the device asgshown, is simple and cheap to manufacture as the several parts may be sheet metal stampings, and the simplicity of construction also adapt it for installation by an unskilled person,

While I have shown and described the device as applied to a milk cabinet, it is obvious that the same may as readily be applied to outside or wall doors of ice boxes and the like, or adapted to other uses'where a locking` device of this character may be desirable, and that changes in the construction may be made to adapt the same to the particular use to which it is to ybe put. lt is therefore to be understood that changes falling within the sco-pe of the appended claims are contemplated and that I do not limit. myself to the construction shown.

Having thus fully described my invention whatlclaim is: 1 y f' 'f- 1. A device of the character described comprising a movable member adapted to be secured to a closure, a fixed l:member adapted to be secured to the Wallof areceptacle tobe engaged by the 4Inemberaon the closure and lock the closure in closed position, and means, operable from within the receptacle to disengage said member on the closure from said fixed member and .to be engaged by said member on the closure to hol'dfsaid closure in closed position and permit the closureto be opened ,from the outside. 2. A device ofthe character.- described comprising means for locking a closure in closed position including a locking dog and means within a receptacle closed by said closure for operating said dog to release the closure and to be engaged by said dog to hold said closure in closed position and permit the opening of said closure from outside said receptacle. f

3. A device of the character described comprising a pivoted dog, a fixed member to be engaged by said dog to lock a closure, and means to engage beneath said dog to raise said dog out of engagement with said fixed member and with which dog is adapted to engage for detachably holding said closure in closed position.

4. A device of the character described comprising a pivoted dog adapted to be secured to a closure, a lug adapted to be secured to a receptacle wall to be engagedl by said dog and lock the closure in closed` position. a slide operable from within the receptacle to disengage said dog from said lug and to be engaged by said dog to hold said closure in closed position and permit the closure to be opened from the outside, yielding means for moving said slide in one direction, and means for moving the slide toward said dog against the action of said yielding means.

5. A device oiv the character described comprising a pivoted dog adapted to be secured to a closure, a fixed lug adapted to be secured to a receptacle wall to be engaged by said dog, a slide to engage and release said dog from engagement with said lug, and means guiding said slide to impart thereto a motion for releasing the same from engagement with said dog when said closure is opened.

6. A device of the character described comprising locking members adapted to be secured to a receptacle and its closure within the receptacle to be brought into locking engagement by the closing of saidclosure,` and setting mechanism for setting the locking means to permit the opening of the closure, said setting mechanism comprising means adapted to be moved into engagement with the locking member on the closure to release said member from the looking member on the receptacle and to engage the member on the closure and hold said closure in closed position, said setting mechanism being adapted when in set position to be moved by the opening of the closure to release said setting means from said locking member on the closure, to release the closure. v v

7. A device of the character described comprising a pivoted locking member to beto be engaged by the pivoted member upon the closing of the closure, and setting mechanism within the receptacle, said setting mechanism comprising a slide having a portion adapted to be interposed between said pivoted and iiXed members to disengage the same and engage said pivoted member with said slide, and yielding means for resisting the movement of said slide. y.

8. A device as characterized in claim 7 'and including means for guiding said slide out of engagement with said pivoted member when said slide is moved by the opening of said closure.

9. A device as characterized in claim 7,

and including means for guiding said slide out of engagement with said pivoted member when said slide ismoved by the opening of said closure, said yielding means be-A ing operative to move said slide in position to the opening movement ofthe closure, and means for moving said slide against the action of said yielding means into engagement with said locking member on the closure.

10. A device of the character described comprising a dog adapted to be pivotally attached to the inner side of a closure, 'a lug adapted to be secured to a wall of a receptacle to be engaged by said dog and lock the closure in closed position, a slide to be supported by thewall of the receptacle for movement toward said dog and over said lug, said dog being provided with an inclined end portion to be engaged by said slide and lift said dog out of engagement with said lug, said dog and slide being formed to come into holding engagement, means for guiding said slide to disengage said slide from said dog when said slide is'moved by the opening of the closure, and a spring to resist the longitudinal movement of said slide in one direction.

`11. Adevice of the character described comprising a dog pivotally attached to a closure, a sheet metal plate secured to a wall of a receptacle closed` by said closure, said plate being formed with an outstanding lug adapted to be engaged by said dog, a slide comprising a plate formed with longitudinal slots having inclined end portions, an outstanding foot on said slide formed with an opening to be engaged by said dog, said dog being formed with an` inclined end portion adapted to be engaged by said slide to lift said dog out of engagement with said lug, and a spring to yieldingly move said slide longitudinally away from said dog.

- In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.v

` Luo o. MILLER. l

Witnesses:

BEATRICE F. MiLLER, KARL H. Burman. f 

